Mattel wasn’t lying when it said tons of toy properties would be getting the movie treatment following Barbie’s success, as it’s just been announced that View-Master is next in line.
While most moviegoers’ eyes are now turned towards the long-gestating Masters of the Universe live-action movie set up at Amazon, Mattel has been quietly but steadily giving several big-screen green lights to IPs such as Bob the Builder and Barney the Dinosaur. It appears it’s all just the tip of the iceberg, as we’re now looking at new projects as head-scratching as a View-Master flick.
Via Variety, we’ve learned that the movie will be developed by Mattel Films with Sony Pictures and Escape Artists. “View-Master has inspired generations to embark on boundless adventures, offering a treasure trove of storytelling possibilities for this film,” said Robbie Brenner, president of Mattel Films. Though the company is describing the project as “a four-quadrant family adventure,” which is usually the code-phrase for ‘soulless slop,’ we at VG247 are low-key hoping for a spooky kids flick at least.
View-Master was first introduced in 1939 and has gone through several iterations (recently including AR and VR) over the years. Basically, the OG model and its classical upgrades consisted of a pair of a slide viewer used to view 3D images (stereo images) that were fitted into it. Early reels were meant for users of all ages, and most current ones are targeted at children. But what if the movie presented the device as a window of sorts into another world, a spookier plane of existence? Sorry, that probably sounds too creatively exciting.
“We can’t wait to bring this treasured toy’s sense of exploration to the big screen,” added Todd Black of Escape Artists. Yup, that’s prime corpo talk for “this is gonna be a safe one, folks.” Will it pay off just because folks enjoyed the admittedly refreshing Barbie movie directed and co-written by a good filmmaker? Place your bets!